Officer Loved His Sons As Well As Mission In Iraq

It is a procession becoming sadly familiar on the homefront in this war to liberate Iraq. Family and friends watch as the casket bearing someone they love is escorted away after a memorial service.

So it was at the funeral for Maj. Gregory "Linus" Stone (USANG) at the Cathedral of the Rockies in Boise (ID). Maj. Stone, a member of the Idaho Air National Guard, died March 25 from injuries received in a grenade attack in Kuwait. 

Maj. Gregory “Linus” Stone of Boise was honored Saturday with dignity, laughter, tears and music. More than 700 people attended the Boise memorial service for Stone, who died March 25 after a grenade attack March 23 in Kuwait.

A Full Life

During the service, friends and family spoke about Stone´s crooked smile, his love of aviation, his innovative spirit and his intense love and devotion to his two sons.

Many speakers addressed their remarks directly to the boys, 11-year-old Alex and 7-year-old Joshua, telling them about their father´s love for his children.

Lt. Col. Kirk Bartlow said he got to know Stone over a two-year period, one weekend a month, in the Idaho Air National Guard. During that time he learned about Stone´s work ethic and his dedication as a father.

“Gregg´s love for his boys ... was written all over his face, and it never left,” Bartlow said. His younger brothers knew Stone as a mentor, a generous friend and a guy who could make them laugh.

Frank Lenzi, Stone´s half-brother, said he was impressed by his brother´s generosity as a friend. When Stone graduated from high school, he bought a cap and gown for a classmate who couldn´t afford one so he could participate in the ceremony, Lenzi said.

Lessons Learned

Stone sent Lenzi an e-mail from Iraq and promised when he returned they´d get together to sing karaoke. He told Lenzi that his time spent in the Middle East was teaching him that life is short and that he should make the most of his time on Earth.

Stone called his mission in Iraq “his final exam,” Lenzi said.

“I just want you to know, Gregg, that you aced that exam,” Lenzi said. “We´re all proud of you. We miss you and love you.”

Tammie Eslinger, Stone´s girlfriend, said he spoke about B-1 bombers the way some men talk about beautiful women. “He couldn´t believe they actually paid him to fly that beautiful creature,” Eslinger said.

Stone was an innovative guy who could use anything, even a gum wrapper, to make a repair, she said. “His knowledge and skill just bounced off the walls,” Eslinger said.

Stone´s friends and family said he taught them many valuable lessons about how to live, and they shared several “Stoneisms” with the crowd:

Take risks. Live each day to the fullest. Smile. Skip rocks and try to make it across the river.

Brian and Joseph Stone called their brother a mentor and “a guiding light” in their lives.

“Gregg was and still is one of the only great ones out there,” Joseph Stone said.

He was a natural leader who left a lasting impression on those around him, said Maj. Jen Fullmer, an Air Force pilot who met Stone in 1987.

Stone earned the nickname “Linus” early in his military career because he resembled the blanket-toting Peanuts character, Fullmer said.

“He´s got a baby face,” she said. “When you´d see him in a striped shirt, it just fit.”

Fullmer, who served in the 34th Bomb Squadron “T-Birds” with Stone during the mid-1990s, traveled from Randolph Air Force Base in San Antonio to attend the memorial service. Two of their colleagues piloted aircraft that flew overhead in a missing man formation after the service at the Cathedral of the Rockies. The fly-over included a B-1 bomber and four F15s.

“The greatest thing anyone could ever hope for is to leave this world a better place, and Linus has certainly done that,” Fullmer said.

Stone received full military honors at Saturday´s service. The 124th Wing Honor Guard marched silently up the church aisle, then posted the colors. Six members of the Idaho Air National Guard Honor Guard guided Stone´s casket, draped with an American flag, up the aisle.

Afterward, a 21-gun salute preceded the fly-over. Bagpipes played “Amazing Grace.” A trumpet played “Taps.”

Stone will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery on April 17.

Bartlow called Stone a hero whose work likely helped save many lives and a man who loved his job in spite of its risks.

“Linus leaves us early in life having lived out all his dreams,” Bartlow said.

FMI: www.centcom.mil